Image Reading Apparatus And Image Forming Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image reading apparatus includes: a main body; an operation panel; a document feeding tray movable between first and second positions and having a placing surface on which a document is placed; a document conveying plate guiding the document; and a reading unit reading an image of the document. The placing surface includes first and second placing portions. In the first position, a first inferior angle formed by the first placing portion and a line is smaller than a second inferior angle formed by the line and the second placing portion. The line is perpendicular to a predetermined plane and passes through a boundary between the first and second placing portions. In the second position, the first placing portion covers at least a part of the operation panel, and the second placing portion is positioned substantially flush with a conveying surface of the document conveying plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-182542, filed on Jun. 30, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus such as a scanner, as well as to an image forming apparatus such as a scanner, a facsimile machine, a copier, etc.

BACKGROUND

JP-A-2003-92651 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1) and JP-A-2002-320058 (hereinafter referred to as Document 2) disclose a facsimile machine. The facsimile machine includes an operation unit cover body is disposed on a front portion of an upper surface of a main body case. On the surface of the operation unit cover body, an operation panel is formed. An image reading unit is disposed within the main body case, and an inkjet type image recording unit (a printer unit) is disposed below the image reading unit. The facsimile machine includes: a document tray on which a document is placed, in order to feed the document to the image reading unit; and a sheet feeding tray on which a plurality of sheets of recording paper (sheets) are placed, in order to print and record data such as a received image on the recording paper (sheet). The document tray and the sheet feeding tray stand on the main body case in the rear of the image reading unit. The document tray and the sheet feeding tray are disposed substantially parallel to each other and downwardly inclined toward the front side (i.e., upwardly inclined toward the rear side).

In the above configuration, a document having been read and a recording sheet having been printed are respectively discharged toward a document discharge tray and a recording sheet discharge tray. These trays are provided at the front surface of the main body case and vertically separated from each other.

The facsimile machine includes a transceiver (a handset) with a ten key numeric pad for a telephone set, in order to communicate with (calling) a facsimile machine or a telephone of the distant party. The handset is placed and laid on a cradle provided on one side of the main body case (housing), so that the longitudinal direction of the handset becomes substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the main body case.

JP-A-2003-158592 (hereinafter referred to as Document 3) discloses a facsimile machine includes a sheet feeding cassette which can be inserted into a lower portion of a main body from the front thereof. In the facsimile machine, a sheet printed in a recording unit (not shown) is discharged to a recording sheet discharge stacker protruding rearward from a rear portion of the main body. In this facsimile machine, a document tray is disposed upstream of the recording sheet discharge stacker, and the document having been read during the course of passing through a reading unit is discharged forward of the main body.

However, in case where the document tray and the sheet feeding tray stand to be inclined rearward as described in Documents 1 and 2, particularly an upper end portion of the tray is situated rearward of a rear surface of the main body case. Accordingly, in order to arrange the tray in a correct rearwardly-inclined position where the rear-side tray exhibits its function, it is necessary to keep a large space (a dead space) between the rear surface of the main body case and a wall surface of a room. That is, even when the main body case is formed to be compact, a large space is necessitated when the image recording apparatus (the facsimile machine) is in use.

In Patent Document 3, a recorded sheet is discharged rearward of the main body. Hence, even in this case, a large space is required between the rear surface of the main body case and the wall surface of the room.

Moreover, in the facsimile machine disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the document tray and the sheet feeding tray are generally formed into a straight line in a side view. Accordingly, when the rearwardly-inclined position is adopted, upper end portions of the trays are distant from the rear surface of the main body case in the side view.

Further, in case where the document tray and the sheet feeding tray are left standing when the image recording apparatus (the facsimile machine) is not in use, dust settles on surfaces (upper surfaces) of the respective trays, the surface of the operation panel, and the inlet to the document reading unit and the sheet feeding unit, as well. Hence, there also arises a problem of consumption of efforts induced by cleaning dust when the image recording apparatus is used again.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus including: a main body to be placed on a predetermined plane; an operation panel provided on a surface of the main body; a document feeding tray that is movable between a first position and a second position and has a placing surface on which a document is placed when the document feeding tray is in the first position; a document conveying plate having a conveying surface on which the document fed from the document feeding tray is guided in a conveying direction; and a reading unit that reads an image of the document guided from the document conveying plate, wherein the placing surface of the document feeding tray includes a first placing portion and a second placing portion and is bent at a boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, the second placing portion positioned downstream of the first placing portion in the conveying direction, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the second placing portion is positioned substantially flush with the conveying surface of the document conveying plate, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the first placing portion is positioned across a virtual line from the second placing portion and extends from the boundary in a direction away from the predetermined plane, where the virtual line is defined as a line that is perpendicular to the predetermined plane and passes through the boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, a first inferior angle formed by the first placing portion and the virtual line is smaller than a second inferior angle formed by the virtual line and the second placing portion, and wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the first placing portion covers at least a part of the operation panel.

According to a second aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus including: a main body to be placed on a predetermined plane; an operation panel provided on a surface of the main body; a recording medium feeding unit that is provided in a lower portion of the main body and separates one at a time a plurality of sheets of a recording medium placed in a stacked manner; a conveying passage having a substantially U-shaped portion in cross section to convey the recording medium fed from the recording medium feeding unit; a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium conveyed from the conveying passage; a discharge portion for discharging the recording medium conveyed from the recording unit; and a image reading apparatus disposed above the recording unit, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises: a document feeding tray that is movable between a first position and a second position and has a placing surface on which a document is placed when the document feeding tray is in the first position; a document conveying plate having a conveying surface on which the document fed from the document feeding tray is guided in a conveying direction; and a reading unit that reads an image of the document guided from the document conveying plate, wherein the placing surface of the document feeding tray includes a first placing portion and a second placing portion and is bent at a boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, the second placing portion positioned downstream of the first placing portion in the conveying direction, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the second placing portion is positioned substantially flush with the conveying surface of the document conveying plate, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the first placing portion is positioned across a virtual line from the second placing portion and extends from the boundary in a direction away from the predetermined plane, where the virtual line is defined as a line that is perpendicular to the predetermined plane and passes through the boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, a first inferior angle formed by the first placing portion and the virtual line is smaller than a second inferior angle formed by the virtual line and the second placing portion, and wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the first placing portion covers at least a part of the operation panel.

According to a third aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus including: a main body to be placed on a predetermined plane; a recording medium feeding unit that is provided in a lower portion of the main body and separates one at a time a plurality of sheets of a recording medium placed in a stacked manner; a conveying passage having a substantially U-shaped portion in cross section to convey the recording medium fed from the recording medium feeding unit; a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium conveyed from the conveying passage; a discharge portion for discharging the recording medium conveyed from the recording unit, in a first conveying direction; a document conveying plate that is disposed above the recording unit and guides a document in a second conveying direction; a reading unit that reading an image of the document guided from the document conveying plate; an operation panel unit disposed above the reading unit; and a document feeding tray that is disposed on an upper surface of the main body and feeds a document to a document introducing port formed between the document conveying plate and the operation panel, wherein the document feeding tray is movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the document feeding tray in the second position covers at least a part of an upper surface of the operation panel and the document feeding port, and wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, an orthogonal projection of the document feeding tray onto the predetermined plane is entirely positioned within a contour of the main body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile machine when a document feeding tray is in a standing position;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the facsimile machine;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the facsimile machine cut along a line III-III shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the facsimile machine when a rear cover is opened and the document feeding tray is in a lying position;

FIG. 5 is a side cross sectional profile when the rear cover is opened and the document feeding tray is closed;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the facsimile machine;

FIG. 7 is a plan view when the document feeding tray is in the standing position;

FIG. 8 is a plan view when the document feeding tray is in the lying position and the rear cover is closed; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view when the rear cover is opened, the document feeding tray is in the lying position, and a U-shaped sheet feeding passage member is removed.

DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings

A main body 2 of the facsimile machine 1 is an injection-molded product formed of a synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, an image recording unit (hereinafter called a “recording unit”) 7 is provided in a lower portion of the main body 2. On a front surface of the main body 2, an opening portion as an insertion port 2 a is formed. A sheet feeding cassette 3 can be inserted or removed (can be loaded and unloaded in a substantially horizontal direction) into or from a cassette accommodation portion located in the bottom of the main body 2 by way of the insertion port 2 a. The part of the main body 2 where the insertion port 2 a is formed is hereinafter referred to as a “front side” or a “forward direction.” With reference to this definition, the front side, left and right sides, and a rear side (a depth side) of the apparatus are designated.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a direction in which the sheet feeding cassette 3 is removably inserted is called a sub-scanning direction (the direction along the Y axis), and a direction in which a carriage 5 (described later) is reciprocated is called a main scanning direction (the direction along the X axis). As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet feeding cassette 3 includes an accommodating portion 3 a capable of accommodating a stack of sheets each of which serves as a recording medium. The sheet feeding cassette 3 may accept the sheets cut into an A4-size, a letter size, a legal size, etc.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, an inclined separation plate 8 for separating sheets is disposed in the vicinity of a deep-side end of the image recording unit along the direction of insertion of the sheet feeding cassette 3. A sheet feeding passage member 9 has a substantially U-shaped portion when viewed from the left or right side. The sheet feeding passage member 9 is provided in the main body 2 so as to be adjacent to the upper side of the inclined separation plate 8 (see FIGS. 3 and 5).

A sheet feeding roller 6 b serving as sheet feeding means is provided at a position above the sheet feeding cassette 3. A drive shaft 6 c is provided at an upper end portion of a sheet feeding arm 6 a in the sheet feeding means. The sheet feeding arm 6 a is vertically rotatable about the drive shaft 6 c. The sheet feeding arm 6 a is attached to the sheet feeding roller 6 b, and the sheet feeding roller 6 b is provided at the lower end of the sheet feeding arm 6 a. By means of synergistic operation of the sheet feeding roller 6 b and the inclined separation plate 8, sheets P stacked on the sheet feeding cassette 3 and serving as recording media are separately fed one at a time. The sheet P is distributed to the recording unit 7 disposed at a position above the sheet feeding cassette 3 by way of the sheet feeding passage member 9, and the recording unit 7 performs image recording for the sheet P. Subsequently, the recorded sheet P is sent to a discharge portion 10, which is a space above the sheet feeding cassette 3, and discharged to the outside of the main body 2 by way of a discharge port 10 a shared with the insertion port 2 a (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 5, the recording unit 7 is supported by a pair of left and right side plates (not shown) in a main frame 11 that is formed from metal into the shape of a frame and which has an opened upper surface. The recording unit 7 includes a first guide member 12, a second guide member 13, the carriage 5, a timing belt (not shown), a CR (carriage) motor (not shown), a plate-shaped platen 16, and a tape scale (not shown). Each of the first guide member 12 and a second guide member 13 has a horizontally-oriented plate-shaped form that is extending in the direction along the X axis (i.e., the main scanning direction). The carriage 5 is supported (mounted) on the guide members 12 and 13 in a slidable manner to allow a reciprocally movement. On a lower surface of the carriage 5, an inkjet recording head (not shown) is provided. The timing belt (not shown) serves as an endless belt passed around pulleys in parallel to the upper surface of the second guide member 13 in order to reciprocally actuate the carriage 5. The CR (carriage) motor drives the timing belt. As an example of the CR motor, a DC motor is described in the embodiment. However, the CR motor may also be another motor, such as a stepping motor. The plate-shaped platen 16 supports the sheet P conveyed over the lower surface of the inkjet recording head. The tape scale (not shown) is a component of an optical linear encoder. The optical linear encoder is arranged to extend along the main scanning direction and detects a position and a moving velocity of the carriage 5 in the direction of the X axis (the main scanning direction). With respect to the sheet conveying direction in which the sheet P passes over the platen 16, the first guide member 12 is disposed at an upstream position and the second guide member 13 is disposed at a downstream position.

A pair of registration rollers 17 which exhibit both a conveying effect and a registration effect are disposed upstream of the platen 16 with respect to the conveying direction. The pair of registration rollers 17 include a drive roller and a driven roller. The registration rollers convey the sheet P to a space between a nozzle plane provided on the lower surface of the recording head and the platen 16. A pair of sheet discharge rollers 18 are arranged downstream of the platen 16. The pair of sheet discharge rollers 18 include: a spur positioned to contact with an upper surface of the sheet P; and a drive roller for driving the lower surface of the sheet P. The recorded sheet P is conveyed to the sheet discharge portion 10 by means of the pair of sheet discharge rollers 18.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, an operation panel 20 is provided at a front portion of the upper surface of the main body 2. An operation panel 20 includes various operation buttons 20 a such as a ten key numeric pad; and a liquid crystal display unit 20 b. This operation panel 20 is downwardly inclined to the front, and hinged to the main body 2 by a hinge 21 that is provided at a front end portion of the operation panel 20. Accordingly, the operation panel 20 can be pivoted in the vertical direction and freely opened and closed with respect to the main body 2.

An image reader 22 is placed at a position below the operation panel 20 and placed in the main body 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a document conveying plate 23 is arranged at a position above and forward of the recording unit 7 in the main body 2, so as to become substantially parallel to the operation panel 20 (downwardly inclined toward the front). The image reader includes a document feeding roller 24, a document separation plate (a separation pad) 25, a pair of document conveying rollers 26, an image scanner 27 for reading a document, and a pair of document discharge rollers 28 disposed downstream of the image scanner, which are disposed along the document conveying plate 23 in sequence from upstream to downstream with respect to the document conveying direction (a feeding direction). The image scanner (a contact image sensor: CIS) 27 contains a CCD (a solid-state imaging device) having a longitudinal side in a direction (the main scanning direction or the direction along the X axis) perpendicular to a paper plane of FIG. 5. The image scanner 27 corresponds to a reading unit configured to read a document in the copier function and the facsimile function. Since the pair of document conveying rollers 26 are disposed upstream of an image scanner 27, and a pair of document discharge rollers 28 are disposed downstream of the image scanner 27, the document can be stably conveyed.

The document conveying plate 23 is disposed at a position facing the lower surface of the operation panel 20, so as to extend toward the upstream side. A space between the operation panel 20 and the document conveying plate 23 acts as a document feeding port 29. A document discharge port 30 as an opening portion provided in the front portion of the main body 2 is positioned downstream of the pair of document discharge rollers 28. A document discharge tray 31 extending toward the front of the main body 2 is provided subsequently to the document discharge port 30 and is vertically rotatable. The document separation plate (the separation pad) 25 facing to the upper surface of the document feeding roller 24, a driven roller (a pinch roller) of the pair of document conveying rollers 26, a driven roller (a pinch roller) of the pair of document discharge rollers 28, and a document pressing plate 32 facing to the upper surface of the image scanner 27 are attached to the lower surface of the operation panel 20.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a document feeding tray 33 is provided for placing a document G which may contain a plurality of sheets. A base end portion of the document feeding tray 33 is attached to the main body 2 (such as a top portion of the document conveying plate 23) by way of a hinge 34. The hinge 34 allows the document feeding tray 33 to be rotatable in the front and rear directions so that the document feeding tray 33 is freely opened and closed with respect to the main body 2. That is, the document feeding tray 33 is rotatable around an axis that is substantially parallel to a plane on which the main body 2 is placed and that is substantially orthogonal to the document conveying direction. The document feeding tray 33 includes a first placing surface 33 b (a first placing portion) and a second placing surface 33 c (a second placing portion). Each of the first placing surface 33 b and the second placing surface 33 c is substantially flat. The document feeding tray 33 is bent at a boundary portion 33 a between the first placing surface 33 b and the second placing surface 33 c. The document feeding tray 33 is formed to have an obtuse angle (an angle θ3) between the first placing surface 33 b and the second placing surface 33 c, in a direction where the placing surfaces approach each other. The document feeding tray 33 including the first placing surface 33 b and the second placing surface 33 c may be integrally formed.

The document feeding tray 33 is selectively movable between a lying position (second position) and a standing position (first position). As shown in FIG. 5, when the document feeding tray 33 is in the lying position, the document feeding tray 33 covers the entire upper surface of the operation panel 20 under which the document feeding port 29 and the image reader 12 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, when the document feeding tray 33 is in the standing position, the document G can be placed on the document feeding tray 33. As a result, the document feeding tray 33 can perform both functions: a function of a document placing unit for placing the document G that is to be read; and a function of a dust-proof member for covering the upper surface of the document feeding port 29 and the upper surface of the operation panel 20 when the apparatus is not in use. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, when the document feeding tray 33 is in the lying position, the operation panel 20 is covered with the first placing surface 33 b, and the document conveying plate 23 and the document feeding port 29 are covered with the second placing surface 33 c.

Here, a virtual straight line S is assumed as a line that passes through the boundary portion 33 a and that is perpendicular to a mount plane on which the main body 2 is placed. An angle θ1 (a first inferior angle) is assumed as a contained angle formed by the first placing surface 33 b and the virtual straight line S when the document feeding tray 33 is in a standing position. An angle θ2 (a second inferior angle) is assumed as another contained angle formed by the virtual straight line S and the second placing surface 33 c when the document feeding tray 33 is in a standing position. The first angle θ1 is smaller than the second angle θ2, and the second placing surface 33 c is arranged in a plane substantially flush with the surface of the document conveying plate 23.

According to this structure, the first placing surface 33 b urges an end of the document to be inserted into the reading unit. Since the second placing surface 33 c is positioned in a plane substantially flush with the document conveying plate 23, the document is smoothly guided from the second placing surface 33 c to the document conveying plate 23.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the document feeding tray 33 is provided so as to situate within a projected area of the main body 2 when viewed from above regardless of whether it is in the standing position or in the lying position.

The document discharge tray 31 is made of a transparent resin plate. As shown in FIG. 5, the document discharge tray 31 is upwardly rotatable around the front portion of the main body 2, so that the document discharge tray 31 can be folded so as to be disposed substantially parallel to the upper surface of the operation panel 20. The hinge 21 may be used for rotating the document discharge tray 31. Subsequently, the document feeding tray 33 can be brought into the lying position so as to become substantially parallel to the upper surface of the folded document discharge tray 31. The liquid crystal display unit 20 b in the operation panel 20 can be observed through a window 33 d provided in the center of the document feeding tray 33. This window 33 d may be omitted.

The document feeding tray 33 is bent at an angle θ3 between the first placing surface 33 b and the second placing surface 33 c, in side cross section. Namely, the document feeding tray 33 is bent at an obtuse angle (an angle θ3 ranges from 120° to 145° or thereabouts) and at an intermediate position in the direction for conveying the document G, in side cross section. When the main body 2 is viewed from the side, the upper end of the document feeding tray 33 in a standing position is assumed to situate towards the front as compared with the rear surface of the main body 2. When the document feeding tray 33 is in the standing position, the second placing surface 33 c is substantially flush with the document conveying plate 23. The first placing surface 33 b is disposed rearward of the apparatus with reference to the virtual straight line S.

Even when the document G is placed on the placing surfaces 33 b, 33 c of the document feeding tray 33 in the standing position and when an intermediate portion of the document G in the feeding direction of the document G is bent under its own weight, the bent intermediate portion does not contact the boundary portion 33 a of the document feeding tray 33. Hence, as compared with a document feeding tray having a downwardly convex carved shape in side cross section, the conveying resistance (sliding resistance) during feeding of the document G can be reduced without providing elongated ribs on the placing surface of the document feeding tray 33 along the sheet feeding direction. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of side guide plates 35 for guiding the respective side edges of the document G are provided on the document conveying plate 23 in the vicinity of the document feeding port 29.

A handset cradle 37 is provided in a form of a recess in one side area on the upper surface (on one side of the location where the document feeding tray 33 is disposed) of the main body 2. The handset cradle 37 receives a cordless handset 36 (a transceiver having operation buttons such as a ten key numeric pad) in a standing state. As shown in FIG. 2, The handset cradle 37 is provided such that, when the main body 2 is viewed from the side, the handset 36 placed in the handset cradle 37 in a standing state is situated toward the front as compared with the document feeding tray 33 in the standing position (see FIGS. 2 and 3). A battery charger (not shown) for the handset 36 is provided in the handset cradle 37.

A rear side of the upper surface of the main body 2 is formed to be downwardly inclined toward the back. A space (an opening portion) of a size that allows a sheet conveying passage of the recording unit 7 to be observed from above is formed at a rearward position in the lateral center of the upper surface of the main body 2 (a rearward position with reference to the position where the document feeding tray 33 is disposed). As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, a rear cover body 38 for covering this space is hinged to the main body 2 by way of a hinge 39 provided on an upper portion of the rear cover body 38. When a paper jam has occurred in the sheet conveying passage including the recording unit 7, the sheet P can be removed. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the U-shaped sheet feeding passage member 9 is also attached to be removable from the back surface of the main body 2, thereby enabling removal of the paper jam having occurred between the sheet feeding roller 6 b and the recording unit 7 (see FIGS. 6 and 9).

In the standby state or in the operating state of the facsimile machine 1, when the document feeding tray 33 opened from the upper surface of the operation panel 22 is lifted so as to stand up as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end portion of the document feeding tray 33 is situated toward the front as compared with the rear surface of the main body 2 (see FIG. 3). Hence, the facsimile machine 1 becomes operable even when the rear surface of the main body 2 of the facsimile machine 1 is located close to a wall of a room.

As mentioned above, the intermediate portion of the document feeding tray 33 in the feeding direction of the document is bent at an obtuse angle, and the angle θ4 with respect to the horizon of the upper portion (first placing surface 33 b) of the document feeding tray 33 in the standing position is as large as about 70° (see FIG. 3). In case where an intermediate portion of the document is bent because of its own weight when the document is placed on the document feeding tray 33, the bent intermediate portion of the document does not contact the boundary portion 33 a in the upper surface of the document feeding tray 33. Hence, sliding resistance during feeding of the document is reduced, thus preventing occurrence of a paper jam. Moreover, when the upper surface of the operation panel 20 is covered with the linear portion (corresponding to the upper portion of the document feeding tray 33 in the standing position) of the document feeding tray 33 in the lying position in which the linear portion is inclined downward toward the front, the boundary portion 33 a as a bent portion at an intermediate portion of the document feeding tray 33 prevents wasteful space between the operation panel 20 and the document feeding tray 33.

When the main body 2 is viewed from the side, the document feeding tray 33 in the standing position is situated rearward of the handset 36 in the standing state. Hence, when the user picks up or places the handset 36 from or on the handset cradle 37, the user's fingers do not interfere with the side surface of the document feeding tray 33, thereby enabling smooth handling of the handset 36. 

1. An image reading apparatus comprising: a main body to be placed on a predetermined plane; an operation panel provided on a surface of the main body; a document feeding tray that is movable between a first position and a second position and has a placing surface on which a document is placed when the document feeding tray is in the first position; a document conveying plate having a conveying surface on which the document fed from the document feeding tray is guided in a conveying direction; and a reading unit that reads an image of the document guided from the document conveying plate, wherein the placing surface of the document feeding tray includes a first placing portion and a second placing portion and is bent at a boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, the second placing portion positioned downstream of the first placing portion in the conveying direction, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the second placing portion is positioned substantially flush with the conveying surface of the document conveying plate, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the first placing portion is positioned across a virtual line from the second placing portion and extends from the boundary in a direction away from the predetermined plane, where the virtual line is defined as a line that is perpendicular to the predetermined plane and passes through the boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, a first inferior angle formed by the first placing portion and the virtual line is smaller than a second inferior angle formed by the virtual line and the second placing portion, and wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the first placing portion covers at least a part of the operation panel.
 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the second placing portion covers at least a part of the document feeding plate.
 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document feeding tray is rotatable around an axis that is substantially parallel to the predetermined plane and is substantially orthogonal to the conveying direction.
 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document feeding tray including the first placing portion and the second placing portion is integrally formed.
 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the first placing portion is disposed substantially parallel to the operation panel.
 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first placing portion and the second placing portion is substantially flat.
 7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation panel is disposed to be downwardly inclined forward, wherein the document feeding tray in the first position is positioned rearward of the operation panel.
 8. An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body to be placed on a predetermined plane; an operation panel provided on a surface of the main body; a recording medium feeding unit that is provided in a lower portion of the main body and separates one at a time a plurality of sheets of a recording medium placed in a stacked manner; a conveying passage having a substantially U-shaped portion in cross section to convey the recording medium fed from the recording medium feeding unit; a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium conveyed from the conveying passage; a discharge portion for discharging the recording medium conveyed from the recording unit; and a image reading apparatus disposed above the recording unit, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises: a document feeding tray that is movable between a first position and a second position and has a placing surface on which a document is placed when the document feeding tray is in the first position; a document conveying plate having a conveying surface on which the document fed from the document feeding tray is guided in a conveying direction; and a reading unit that reads an image of the document guided from the document conveying plate, wherein the placing surface of the document feeding tray includes a first placing portion and a second placing portion and is bent at a boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, the second placing portion positioned downstream of the first placing portion in the conveying direction, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the second placing portion is positioned substantially flush with the conveying surface of the document conveying plate, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, the first placing portion is positioned across a virtual line from the second placing portion and extends from the boundary in a direction away from the predetermined plane, where the virtual line is defined as a line that is perpendicular to the predetermined plane and passes through the boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, a first inferior angle formed by the first placing portion and the virtual line is smaller than a second inferior angle formed by the virtual line and the second placing portion, and wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the first placing portion covers at least a part of the operation panel.
 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a cradle provided on an upper surface of the main body, to place a handset in a standing state, wherein when a downstream side in the conveying direction is defined as a front side in a plan view, the cradle is located to position the handset so that, in a side view, an upper portion of the handset is situated to a frontward of the document feeding tray in the first position.
 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an opening portion and a door are provided on an upper surface of the main body and blow the document feeding tray of the first position, wherein the opening portion is located above at least a part of the recording unit, and wherein the door is rotatably attached to the main body to selectively expose and close the opening portion when the document feeding tray is in the second position.
 11. An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body to be placed on a predetermined plane; a recording medium feeding unit that is provided in a lower portion of the main body and separates one at a time a plurality of sheets of a recording medium placed in a stacked manner; a conveying passage having a substantially U-shaped portion in cross section to convey the recording medium fed from the recording medium feeding unit; a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium conveyed from the conveying passage; a discharge portion for discharging the recording medium conveyed from the recording unit, in a first conveying direction; a document conveying plate that is disposed above the recording unit and guides a document in a second conveying direction; a reading unit that reading an image of the document guided from the document conveying plate; an operation panel unit disposed above the reading unit; and a document feeding tray that is disposed on an upper surface of the main body and feeds a document to a document introducing port formed between the document conveying plate and the operation panel, wherein the document feeding tray is movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the document feeding tray in the second position covers at least a part of an upper surface of the operation panel and the document feeding port, and wherein when the document feeding tray is in the first position, an orthogonal projection of the document feeding tray onto the predetermined plane is entirely positioned within a contour of the main body.
 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the document feeding tray has a placing surface on which the document is placed, the placing surface having a first placing portion and a second placing portion, the second placing portion positioned downstream of the first placing portion the second conveying direction, and wherein the placing surface is bent at a boundary between the first placing portion and the second placing portion in cross section, so that the first placing portion and the second placing portion forms an obtuse angle.
 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a cradle provided on an upper surface of the main body, to place a handset in a standing state, wherein when a downstream side in the second conveying direction in plan view is defined as a front side, the cradle is located to place an upper portion of the handset in a side view is situated to the front side of the document feeding tray in the first position.
 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an opening portion and a door are provided on an upper surface of the main body and blow the document feeding tray of the first position, wherein the opening portion is located above at least a part of the recording unit, and wherein the door is rotatably attached to the main body to selectively expose and close the opening portion when the document feeding tray is in the second position.
 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the second placing portion covers at least apart of the document feeding plate.
 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the document feeding tray is rotatable around an axis that is substantially parallel to the predetermined plane and is substantially orthogonal to the conveying direction.
 17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the document feeding tray is integrally formed.
 18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when the document feeding tray is in the second position, the first placing portion is disposed substantially parallel to the operation panel.
 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein each of the first placing portion and the second placing portion is substantially flat.
 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the operation panel is disposed to be downwardly inclined forward, wherein the document feeding tray in the first position is positioned rearward of the operation panel. 